President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to officially open and deliver the keynote address at the inaugural South Africa Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Authorities from the Western and Northern Cape have committed to collaborate with Namibia in a bid to create a green hydrogen investment corridor in the SADC region stationed at Saldanha Bay on the West Coast.
Green hydrogen involves the extraction of hydrogen from water using solar or wind energy.
CEO of Free Port Saldanha Kaashifah Beukes says the area has great potential.
“The second CSIR study, funded by the SA/EU partnership for growth did a very deep analysis of the demand potential from Saldanha and Cape Town and the ArcelorMittal team shared that they need about 104 kilotons per year. To put that into perspective, Japan in their decarbonaisation journey has said that they want 400 kilotons by 2030. One plant alone in South Africa needs 100 kilotons. So, the market is immense for South Africa.”
The summit showcases the country’s offering as a large-scale, low cost, world-class green hydrogen production hub and total value chain investment destination.
SABC News Reporter Atule Joka updates from the summit:
Meanwhile, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says, “This corridor is an opportunity for Namibia, Northern Cape and Western Cape but we have to make sure that they are all pulled together. In this province it’s not only about getting the energy part. If we can’t get it right by 2030, we start losing agricultural market share in our core market.”
